Downton Abbey founder Julian Fellowes drops HUGE hint a movie is in the pipeline amid speculation Maggie Smith has signed up
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THE man behind hit period drama Downton Abbey has confessed he is eager to make a movie version amid claims Dame Maggie Smith has already signed up for the film.
Writer and creator Julian Fellowes is craving the chance to see the hit ITV show on a bigger screen and teased fans with the prospect at last night's Emmy Awards.
He said: "I would love to make one.
"As far as I am concerned, I am completely up for it."
He added to Good Morning Britain: "Most of the cast are up for it."
Yet according to one member of the cast, actor Michael Fox, Maggie is on-board and raring to get back into character.
Meanwhile actress Joanne Froggatt, who has played lady's maid Anna Bates in the show since 2010, was equally enthusiastic.
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She gushed to GMB: "I am 98% per cent sure it will happen.
"I am pretty confident we will do it."
Maggie is believed to be reprising her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the adaptation for the cinema.
Michael, who played Andy Parker in the show, said his veteran co-star had already given the thumbs up to the new job opportunity.
Talking of her impact on the plot he said: She elevates it to something else, because she is such a legend and a national treasure."
He told : "The film without her would still be good with all the other actors, but it puts a stamp of quality with her in it."
Last year Dame Maggie - who won an Emmy for supporting actress at last night's glitzy awards - said she was unsure how Violet would fit into a film due to the character's age.
She told the Graham Norton show: "By the time we finished, she must have been about 110. It couldn’t go on and on, it just didn’t make sense."
She added: "I can’t - what age would she be?"
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